


As The Dawn Breaks

by bucketofbarnes



Series: Shiro Week 2016 [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Gen, Lots of Crying, Missing Scene, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Shiro (Voltron) Angst, Shiro (Voltron) Has PTSD - Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Shiro (Voltron)-centric, slightly less angst than usual
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-23
Updated: 2016-11-23
Packaged: 2018-09-01 15:30:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8629447
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bucketofbarnes/pseuds/bucketofbarnes
Summary: Fill for Shiro Week 2016. Day 3 - Sky/StarsIt had been a year since Shiro had seen anything other than the cold metal ceilings of the Galra prison ships.





	

His first experience when he woke up after his escape back to Earth was being strapped down on a cold table, people looming over him that his too jumbled mind couldn’t tell if they were Scientists or Druids, and all he could see above him was a cold metal ceiling. Smooth, grey, uninteresting, and almost exactly like the ceilings of the Galra ships. He had tried desperately to tell them about the Galra ships that were coming to Earth, to warn them before the Galra did to Earth what they had done to so many planets before.

They didn’t listen.

They had jabbed a needle in his neck, ignoring him, no matter how many times he screamed at them to stop, and the world around him, the cold metal ceiling, faded away. The next thing he saw when he woke up was a wooden ceiling. Old, with splinters in it, dirty as if no one had bothered to do anything to clean it in a long time. He thought it was beautiful. No metal, just warm, brown wood. He could feel that rather than a cold hard table, he was lying on a soft, plush surface, warm blankets wrapped around him, and a soft pillow underneath his head. It felt so wonderful, to lie on something that wasn’t a metal floor, and he found himself never wanting to leave the comfortable warmth. But as much as he never wanted to leave, he also couldn’t quite bring himself to believe it. This must all be another dream, that would let him believe that he was free, that he was _safe _, right up until he woke up in his cell yet again. He tried his best to restrain a sob at the possibility of leaving this place, a few tears slipping out and sliding down his cheek despite his best efforts. He pulled the soft blankets over his head.__

__There was a light thudding of footsteps from across the room and a door creaked open quietly. He stilled, barely breathing, almost afraid to pull the covers from over his head, but needing to see who it was all the same. He pulled the covers down just enough to peek over the top and froze at the sight of a familiar head of long black hair and a white and red jacket. His mind failed him for a moment, before he remembered the name in a rush of fond feelings and memories - _Keith _.___ _

____Keith seemed just as frozen, grey eyes staring at him as if they couldn’t believe the sight in front of them. Shiro knew the feeling. Keith seemed to gather whatever thoughts were keeping him frozen and he took a few tentative steps toward the bed. “S-Shiro?”_ _ _ _

____Shiro had almost forgotten what his name sounded like, it hadn’t been used for almost a year after all. Hell, he had been well on his way to forgetting he ever had a name that wasn’t _Champion _. It felt so good to hear his name again. The combination of this, seeing Keith in front of him, feeling somewhat safe for the first time in a year, and the feeling that made his heart sink right down to his stomach that told him that _this wasn’t real _, overwhelmed him. The sobs that he had been holding back won and began to tear their way out of his throat, loud, jarring and ugly, as the tears began to pour down his face. He buried his face in the blankets as he sobbed, each one making his chest heave and his throat burn._____ _ _ _

________“Shiro!” He could hear Keith, alarmed and right next to the bed, a soft hand reaching out to gently touch his shoulder, and that was all it took. He abandoned the blankets in favour of dragging himself up and wrapping his arms around Keith, holding on for dear life and practically wailing into his shoulder. He could feel the body in his arms tense up briefly before arms came up to return the hug just as tightly, squeezing him, refusing to let him go. It should have felt restraining, like the Druids or the guards grabbing him, but it didn’t. He felt the safest he had in a long time, in this tiny little wooden shack, with his best friend’s arms wrapped around him. None of the dreams that he had ever had while in captivity had felt this real, even the horrors created by Haggar’s spells felt somewhat wrong, but this, this felt _real _. His body trembled at this realisation and Keith’s arms tightened around him even further, unable to protect Shiro from what he was feeling, but damned well willing to do the best he could to hold him together.___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________It had taken him a long time to pull himself together after that, but Keith hadn’t complained once, not even when his back had to be killing him from the awkward angle that the hug kept him in. He had just held on, letting himself become Shiro’s lifeline. Even after Shiro had finally been able to convince himself to let go, Keith had just sat on the bed next to him and watched him with soft, concerned eyes as he shuddered, hands trying to wipe the tears from his face. He could see Keith’s eyes flick towards his metal arm, but he neglected to comment on it, which he was grateful for. He didn’t think he could handle being asked about his arm right now._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________He heard Keith get up and almost panicked before he felt the bed dip next to him again and a soft cloth began to gently wipe his face clean. Shiro didn’t have the energy in him to do it himself and so he dropped his hands into his lap, feeling almost numb now, but letting himself feel the soothing brush of the soft cloth on his cheeks. The cloth stopped it’s soothing touch and moved away. Shiro gathered himself as much as he could before he opened his sore eyes again to look at Keith. His friend gave him a small smile. He tried to give one back but it felt more like a grimace than a smile. He slowly looked around the room that he was in before his eyes froze on the sight of a window. A simple pane of glass that was allowing the soft light of an approaching dawn shine through. He saw Keith’s head move to see what he was looking at in the corner of his eye, and he was practically able to see the gears turning in his head._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“You want to go outside?” Shiro was unsure how to answer, wanting more than anything to go outside, but for some reason being afraid of the possibility, even after being locked up for so long. Keith waited patiently until he gave a tiny nod. “Let’s get you into something warmer first, okay?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________He looked down at himself and noticed that he was still wearing the black bodysuit and the ragged purple shirt of a Galra prisoner. He suddenly couldn’t stand the feeling of it on his body. He ripped the shirt over his head as quickly as he could and threw it away from him in disgust. Keith placed a pile of clothes and a pair of boots on the bed next to him, and he stalled as he noticed that they were some of his. He glanced up at Keith, and watched as he tried to figure out a way to explain._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“Y-You were declared dead. The Garrison started clearing out your room on the base. Most of your stuff went to your parents but, I grabbed some of it. Some of your clothes, some books, your music. I just-”. He fell silent after that, but Shiro could understand what he was getting at. He had just wanted to keep something of his as a reminder, of something to hold onto when he could no longer keep hold of the person. He placed a hand on Keith’s shoulder and gave him a tiny smile, the biggest that he could manage right now, but he could tell that it put Keith at ease._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________He dressed as quickly as he could, eager to get the bodysuit off of him and wear something more familiar. He finished lacing his boots and glanced up at Keith, suddenly feeling shaky all over again. Keith gazed calmly right back at him, before he held out a hand. Not just an offer to help him up off of the bed, but a promise, that he would be right next to Shiro the whole time that he needed him._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Shiro accepted the offer of help and stood, before walking slowly towards the door, his hand resting on the doorknob and turning it, opening the door and allowing the cool air of early morning in. He closed his eyes as the cool air rushed over his face, ruffling his hair in a way that the artificial air on the Galra ships never could. He let one foot venture out of the door and could hear the crunch of the ground beneath his boot. He opened his eyes and looked at Keith, and his friend somehow managed to just know that he needed to do this himself._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Keith patted his shoulder once before he took a step back into the little wooden shack. “I’ll be right here when you get back okay?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Shiro nodded gratefully and turned back towards the door, stepping out and walking across the desert ground, not moving far away from the shack before he came to a stop. He glanced up at the sky and could see the few stars there that were gradually fading behind the soft colours of dawn. He could remember all the nights with his mother outside, wrapped in a big warm blanket. Nights filled with laughter, star-gazing, and his father watching them from their back door with a fond smile._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________He closed his eyes again as he smiled at those sweet memories, and when he opened them again he could see the yellow rising on the horizon, the beginning of a sunrise._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________The dawn of a new day._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

**Author's Note:**

> You can see more Voltron content, or make requests by following my tumblr: bucketofbarnes.tumblr.com/


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